To Have and Hold Onto
by FollowtheFatOrangeCat
Summary: Most stories end with the wedding. The happy conclusion to the couple's emotional struggles. But...what happens after that? Sometimes, when faced with the trials of life, love isn't enough. Vows go 'To have and to hold.' Maybe they should go 'To have and to hold onto.' [Modern A/U: M for language and sexual content.]
1. Prologue

**Did anyone else have those days (…or, in my current case, weeks…) when your mind doesn't want to focus on one thing? My other story has two possibly plot paths I could take and, while I am trying to determine which I should take (either fluffy or more plot-driven…if you are reading, insight would be appreciated) I thought it would be fun to play with another idea that came while I was singing **_**Wrecking Ball**_** at work (much to the pain of my co-workers' ears).**

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><p><strong>[DICLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING…]<strong>

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><p><strong>Prologue: Secret Lives of Librarians<strong>

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><p>"—believe that goal Dragneel scored right before half-time?" Not waiting for an answer, Romeo Conbolt continued, eyes alight with hero adoration. "I mean I didn't realize a person's spine could contort like that. Are we going back to our earlier theory that he isn't completely human?" He couldn't help but pluck at the orange and blue jersey he wore, an homage to his favorite player and had been—much to the annoyance of his father, who had to wash it each night while Romeo was in the shower—wearing for a week straight since his favorite team, The Tails, entered the playoffs.<p>

"If you want to talk not-human, what about Redfox? He has to be the best midfielder that Tails had in, at least, twenty years." Tono, another member of the high school's soccer team, drowned out the chiming of the diner's bell. Though, behind thick frames, his eyes lit up from emotions beyond the glee of fandom when he saw who had arrived. "Hey, L-squared!" He nearly stood at their booth to wave the two women over.

Romeo rolled his eyes, not sharing his friends desire to not-so-discreetly appreciate the way Lucy Heartfilia filled her halter. The blonde looked far from the standard idea of what a librarian should be, benefits of her father—along with owning half the town—being the main donator to the ancient build's renovations.

Meanwhile, her petite friend was near to the walking stereotype. Short—barely four-eleven…though she claimed to be five-one and no one had the heart to call her out on it—and delicately thin, Levy McGarden was just missing the cat-framed glasses to be the textbook definition. On first meeting, most assumed her to be timid and painfully-shy…and then they tried to cross her in her literary domain and realized the misconception of thinking that quiet and self-contained was the same as being a push-over.

For Romeo, this occured when he tried to swipe a sports magazine from the library stacks a few months back. Levy hadn't called his father about the attempted theft. No, rather, she took matters into her own hands and Romeo found himself stacking shelves for the better part of a Saturday afternoon. Missing a much anticipated game and not even thinking of ducking out, knowing that what would follow at his attempt at freedom would be far worse.

Levy might have the appearance of a doll…A doll that was possessed by a demon when taxed.

Shrinking down into his booth, Romeo took a long drag from his chocolate shake and hoped that the two would ignore Tono's incessant waves and calls. Wincing when, after exchanging looks, the two women approached. Kicking Tono when he tried to scoot over to make room.

Thankfully, neither sat. Instead, Levy lifted a brow and looked down the mere centimeters between where she stood and where the boys sat. "Yes, Tono?"

The question caught him off guard, not thinking through what to do if he succeeded in gaining their attention. His mind being too busy trying to decide if Lucy was wearing a bra. "I…I was wondering if you two caught last night's game."

Romeo kicked Tono's shins again, just from annoyance of his idiocy. "Of course they didn't watch the Tail's game." They probably didn't know who the team was, much less the intricacy of the sport. Neither of the librarians had the look of having any sports appreciation about them.

Expect, maybe, as cheerleaders. He could definitely imagine Lucy jumping about with pom-poms.

Hey, he might not puppy-adore her…but he was male and had eyes.

Lucy looked down at Levy, clearly—as predicated—not knowing what game was being discussed. Obviously as perplexed as Romeo about why her blue-haired friend's lips were curled in an emotion that no one would ever think to associate with the woman Romeo silently considered the 'Tiny Dictator.'

Something bordering on smug pride.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Levy shrugged. "If you ask me, they were off all night."

"How can you say that?!" Romeo couldn't stop himself from following Tono's earlier action of nearly leaping to his feet. Hands braced on the table top so he was now taller than the woman. "Dagneel—"

"Met his average of three goals per half, with a decent amount of assists and steals…but the Phantoms managed four goals. Four goals that shouldn't have happened. It should have been a clean shut-out. And, how many goals did Dragneel, Redfox, Fullbuster, and Fernandes allow Sol to catch?"

"They didn't _allow_ him to do anything. Sol had a rare good night."

"No, the Tails knew that it was going to be fish-in-a-barrel kind of night and, with the remainder of the playoffs ahead of them would want to conserve their strength. Even the best of players undergo fatigue when they needlessly go all out for every game. My guess is that Makarov specifically ordered them to reign it in, which was why Dragneel and Redfox went out of their way to show off with the goals they did make…and why Dreyar committed so many penalties."

Both boy's mouth fell open while Lucy seemed to want to poke her friend to make sure what had just occurred was real, not some part of some surreal dream.

A bell ringing from the counter broke the confused tension mounting, causing Levy to give an innocent smile and hook arms with Lucy.

"Come on, Luce, our food is ready and we only have an hour for lunch."

The boys could only watch them walk away.

"Did that just happen?" Romeo motioned towards where Levy had been standing with the tip of his straw, flicking shake about the table's surface.

"I think…I think I might actually want Levy more than Lucy right now."

Romeo had to secretly agree.

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><p>"What was that about?" Lucy gasped out at Levy as they exited the diner, the bag containing their orders cradled in her arms.<p>

"What?"

"Don't 'what' me. You just out fanboyed two high school jocks in their category of choice. I mean, Romeo is currently living in that jersey, and you just verbally bitch-slapped him into a stupor."

"I didn't bitch slap him. Tono asked a question, far be it—his eyes had been glued to your chest the entire time—but it was still a legitimate question, and I answered."

"Since when have you known anything about soccer?"

Levy shrugged, finger combing back loose waves of her jaw-length hair as the wind teased the locks about. "In college, I dated a guy who was really into the sport. Every so often, when nothing else is on, I pick-up a game."

"Last night was the season premiere of _Secret Warriors_."

"Really? It was?"

"Yes. We already talked about this, remember? You said you missed it because you had to do inventory at the shop."

Rubbing the back of her neck, Levy bit her bottom lip before releasing it with a faint 'plopping' sound. "Yep. That's right. Freed had the game playing from the office while I was in the back room. I forgot about _Warriors_ for a second there…lack of sleep and all that. Downfall of working two jobs." The excuse was weak, the sheepish smile she offered said as much. But she was also aware that Lucy knew there was nothing she could do to gain the truth.

That was the thing about Levy. On the surface, she seemed to be nothing short of complete honesty…and there being so many sub layers of evasive actions to cover the mysterious circumstances of her life prior to stepping off the bus at the Magnolia stop nearly two years ago.

Most people didn't get close enough to realize this, assuming pre-Magnolia Levy was the exact same as the one who they saw on the day-to-day interactions.

In fact, if the residence of the picturesque—if a bit sleepy in manner—town were asked what they knew about their head librarian, the answers might go as follows:

Her name was Levy McGarden and she was in her twenties.

Her passion was solely directed towards the library. Most would say her lack of a romantic-lifestyle, despite the interest some men had shown—some non-readers making daily trips to the library to gain interaction—and many of which had tried to act on, was because she had already found the love of her life. Books. Anyone would be hard pressed to think of a time that she actually had a date. Not when she always declined, as politely as possible, when such a topic matter was addressed.

The only person who seemed to ponder Levy's 'before' for any significant stretch of time was Lucy. And time had taught her that pressing on certain matters would only cause Levy to lock-down, causing the blonde to develop alternate means to derive answers for the more personal matters of Levy's pre-life.

Which was why she waited several hours after lunch, when they were stocking the shelves before closing hours, to ease back onto personal grounds. "No one comes from nothing."

Reaching down to accept the book Lucy was holding up, Levy deadpanned, "You caught me; I'm actually a robot. My makers' originally purpose was a sex-bot, but then realized they lacked the funds to provide the fun bits. So…what they were left with was downloading an intense understanding of the Dewey Decimal System and a love for card catalogs into my hard-drive before calling it a day and dropping me off at a bus station with enough money to get here."

"That does explain why you are so against the computers and WiFi," Lucy wasn't deterred by how Levy side-stepped the topic. Not offended, if anything impresses, and enjoying the game they had developed. One that involved Lucy managing to needle the smallest of fragments of information from her friend at a time. Feeling nothing short of euphoric pride when she managed to do so.

"That…and I know that perverts come in here to use such as a means to watch porn. If I find one more man jerking-off in the stacks, I'll paint 'No Masturbating' onto all the walls."

Lucy laughed in a manner that some would call snorting in regards to a less attractive woman. "That would be more convincing if you didn't turn five different shades of red during that one sentence."

"Same for you." Levy got out before both of them fell into laughter, a dangerous act when she was perched at the top of one of the ladders that ran along the shelves.

Offering a hand to aid in Levy's climb down to the safety of the floor, the two still shaking from girlish giggles, Lucy accidentally knocked into the book-cart. Causing some contents to topple to the ground.

Choking on laughter on looking at one-another, they both ducked their heads and went to gather what had scattered across the floor.

One being a glossy fashion magazine that Lucy flipped through in mild interest.

"We're still on the clock." Levy reminded, standing with arms full and craning her neck to look around the cart and down at where Lucy was now sitting and more reading than brief skimming.

"Have you seen this?" Flipping the cover around, Lucy held up an article for the other librarian to analyze. It pertained to some model Levy never heard of, not being one for fashion and trends, but knew Lucy was familiar during her high-school dalliance with the modeling world. Still having many friends still actively working in the trade. "This is the girl I told you about, Jenny Realight," Lucy explained on realizing Levy had no idea of the significance of what she was looking at. "The one who sabotaged my friend Mirajane during a recent show. Mira told me that, when they passed each other on the walkway, Jenny caused Mira's top to fall off."

Levy was about to question how flimsy the top had to be to make such possible, when her mind actually began to take in the article's content matter.

Jenny Realight was engaged to the famous soccer success, the Tail's leading midfielder, Gajeel Redfox. Flipping the magazine over, she saw a picture of the two on the next page…

Jenny had all appearance of a model, tall and leggy with a chest that would put Lucy to shame. Lush hair of pale-gold left to tumble down her back and shoulders, giving the appearance that it was the only thing keeping her body covered. That was how slight the dress she wore, nude in color and practicing the art of minimalism in regards to fabric, appeared to be.

This goddess turned mortal was holding the hand of the rough-around-the-edges midfielder, who remained taller than Jenny—even though she wore dangerously-spiked heels—and had an unkempt looked about his person that clashed with her perfection.

Black hair a tangled mess of inky-black, even when tied back as it was, with his face decorated with an array of piercings that weren't league allowed…but he always played while wearing regardless. Ripped jeans were tucked into scuffed work-boots and the material of his simple white T-shirt strained against broad shoulders and pressed against the chiseled muscles of his torso.

Despite how the two represented very different ends of the social spectrum, Levy couldn't overlook the fact that they did appear good together. The perfect balance of opposites attracting.

Lucy was still talking, unaware that the words could be heard but Levy had no idea what their contents were…having checked out of the conversation long ago. Not knowing that Levy was using the remaining bits of her will to maintain the appearance of being calmly collected.

Not letting the inner turmoil that felt to be ripping apart her very soul.

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><p>Levy was drunk.<p>

That much she knew from the sheer fact that, at some time during the evening, she had opened the shoebox carefully labeled:

_**IF YOU OPENED THIS, YOU ARE DRUNK…AND AN IDIOT.**_

She was sitting in the middle of her apartment's living-space, the largest of three rooms and shared the square-footage with the kitchen and a counter separating the areas into the illusion of the rental being larger than it actually was…not that it made much of a difference in regards to Levy's minute stature, with a bottle of tequila in one hand while the other routed about the box's contents.

Carefully pulling out photos, a life-time's worth of memories, she tried to prevent smudging them with finger prints as she laid them out in careful rows. All sharing the same topic matter. Same experiences and people she came in contact with during a specific span of years that she now felt completely detached from.

The girl in these photos, a high school senior in the oldest of the lot and freshly made college graduate in the newest, was a stranger to her…

Smiling in unbridled joy as she was carried on the back of a dark haired man sprinting down the beach.

Contently curled onto the lap of that said man, head tucked under his chin as his fingers played with the tips of her hair.

A stolen moment consisting of him bending down to capture her lips under the porch-light of a frat house. Signs of a party having raged surrounding them.

Her happily screaming as she was thrown into the deep end of a pool.

Painted the university colors and leaping into his arms in celebration at the end of nationals.

Each time she laid out a fresh photo, she took another drag from the bottle. A drinking game some would consider pointlessly boring, she considered it an act of blind masochism. And one drawing to an end, with the contents of her bottle dwindling with each passing moment.

There was another under the sink…Now the question was if her legs could handle the journey.

She was caught in the middle of this dilemma when there was a knock on her door, giving her no choice but to climb to her feet and—knees knocking the entire way and her feet continuously veering off course—carefully negotiated her way to the door.

"Yeah?"

"Levy, it's me." Lucy's voice drifted through the thick wood. "You forgot your purse at the library." Explaining why Levy had to get her landlord to dig out his set of keys. Not the first time such situations had occurred.

"Oh, right, thanks." It was harder than usual to turn the deadbolt and swing the door open. "Come on in." She added with a sloppy flourish when she succeeded in this small victory.

Lucy remained at the doorway, not sure if it was safe to enter. Large brown eyes looking about, noticed the state of disarray and Levy's intoxicated gait. "Are…Levy, are you drunk?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

"Because I found the tequila…if not, I would just be on my third pint of ice-cream." Waving her hand, Levy urged Lucy to come inside. "Which we can now crack open together."

"Um…alright then." Walking on the tips of her toes, trying not to disrupt the clusters of chaos occupying Levy's usually pristine apartment, Lucy was half-way to the counter—where Levy was fumbling with the lid of a pint of salted-caramel chunk—when she noticed the mosaic of chronologically organized photos. "What are these?"

"Photos," drunk-Levy liked to state the obvious and was currently trying to use a spoon as a means of lid-leverage.

Crouching down, Lucy carefully picked on at random. In it, a younger version of Levy was reading on a couch that a man was laying on. His head pillowed on her lap with his arms wrapped about her waist. "Hey…this looks a lot like that guy Jenny is engaged to. You know…the soccer player…"

Two things happened at once:

Lucy's mind snapped all the random pieces into place.

Levy instantly sobered up.

"Levy…?"

Leaning forward, Levy hit her forehead against the counter top. The spoon she was about to dig into the creamy dessert held into the air. A flag of surrender. "Fuck."

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><p>"Who?" Lucy was only allowed one question of one word between spoonful's of ice-cream.<p>

Scrapping the bottom of her container, Levy hoped the headache she was suffering from was from the cold. It being too early for it to be a hang-over…though she was a lightweight. The bottle being less than a quarter full when she started her drinking. "His name is Gajeel Redfox."

"How?"

"It was all quite cliché. When I was a high school senior, I was a part of a tutoring program at the local university." Opening a fresh container, having at least a half a dozen stored away for emotional emergencies, Levy pulled a new spoon from a nearby drawer so not to mix the varying flavors. "Gajeel was the star of the variety soccer team and was in desperate need to up his GPA…or be kicked off the team. Ensuring the end of the university's winning streak."

"When?"

"We started dating a few months later." She paused before sighing in defeat, might as well confess to all while she could still blame it on the alcohol. "And we were married…kind of…during my junior year at university. By then he had already gone pro."

"How can you be 'kind of' married?"

"You broke the rule."

"Too bad."

Buying time by shoveling a massive spoonful of red velvet into her mouth, Levy rubbed at her temples at the fare of pain before swallowing and giving as quick and easy an answer as possible. "We never got any paperwork signed or…anything along those line. No ceremony…no technicality. But, at the time, we were as close to married as I thought he would ever be able. One night, he came home from practice—I was living with him at that time—and he nonchalantly clipped this tiny gold loop through the cartridge of my left ear." She absently felt the now bare space. "And whispered 'to have and to hold' to me while doing so."

"That is actually…well, it's rather romantic in its simplicity. What happened to…" She couldn't get herself to finish the question.

"Life. Basically. We were too young at the time, too different. After I graduated, stuff started happening that eventually pulled us apart."

She made it sound so nonchalant. So matter-of-fact. Sticking to the broad facts and ignoring the details that—in essence—held the truth of the matter. Allowing Lucy to make her own, misguided, conclusions to how their marriage ended.

Such as not including how, when it came to the ending, Levy had been the one who had left without a word.

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><p><strong>Know there are errors hidden throughout this...please forgive me for not catching them.<strong>

**This chapter is longer than I anticipated...wanted to get some background covered for you guys to get a feel for it. I hope you enjoy, and let me know if you want me to continue.**


	2. Chapter 1

**[DICLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING…]**

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><p><strong>1: Long Time, No See…<strong>

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><p><em>Levy carefully walked about the aisles of the library, wanting to ask directions but didn't want to be pegged as an idiot on realizing that the section she was looking for was right behind her…<em>

_The thought made her whip her head about, hoping to see a blinking neon sign that proclaimed directions to the tutoring section. When no such indication appeared, she fidgeted with the desire to go running out the building and giving up on the insanity of this idea._

_No amount of extra credit, a deal she had worked out with to bypass the need for a tech-class credit, was worth this kind of tension building about her heart. She could just take the summer course before university, hopefully there will be someone there who would take mercy on her and complete all the necessary projects in exchange for her to bang out a few essays._

_That was how she got through her home-economics lessons, after the third batch of eggs she managed to transform into charcoal._

_Seriously, if it couldn't be learned directly from a book, she was useless._

_And why in the name of the library gods did they think that a high school senior would be of any use to a university sophomore? Either they assume her to be a genius…or this guy had been recently freed from his block of ice and was still in the grunt-and-point stage of the evolutionary track._

"_Levy McGarden?"_

_Squeaking, she jumped while turning about to face the woman, probably a grad student at the library from a form of work-study, standing behind her. "Sorry," she staged-whispered behind fanned fingers when she realized how loud she had been, breaking the academic atmosphere. "Yes, I'm Levy."_

"_You're late."_

"_Again…sorry, got lost."_

_Rolling her eyes, the woman guided Levy through the labyrinth of aisles to a circular grove of tables stationed about where duos were bent over open books. One table hosting only a lone occupant._

_Leaning back in his chair, balanced on the two back legs while his feet were resting on the table's top, he looked near to slumber as he stared at the ceiling._

"_Gajeel," the librarian's voice had lost its former annoyed toned, used on addressing Levy moments before, and most of the ice had defrosted as she went to give the young man a playful swat on the shoulder. "Your tutor is here. Warning: you might have to change her diaper." _

_Feet falling to the ground chair, thuncking to its proper position, the guy cocked his head towards where Levy lingered at the section's edge. _

_Wild hair and far too many piercings were all Levy took note of…that and his sheer size._

_Okay…obviously her ice theory might not have been too much of a jest after all._

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><p>Levy hated going to the doctor, especially for her—as Cana at the local pub, known for her blunt way of putting matters—'annual probing session.'<p>

As far as she was aware, no woman did.

"Alright, that will about do it." Porlyusica, not known for her bedside manner, snapped off her gloves and wrote notes in her folder as Levy made herself presentable once more. Pinched eyes snapping to look Levy over as the young woman remained sitting on the edge of the 'bed,' not trying to run from what she knew was coming. "How have you been?" The question was more analytical than affectionate concern.

"Fine."

Lips pursed in irritation, "That's the same answer as last year."

"Nothing much has changed since then." Levy muttered, watching how her hands fiddled with the hem of the gauzy tunic-top she wore over her skinny jeans. "I don't know what you want me to say." She added when she could feel the doctor's disapproval continue to waft towards her.

"Have you talked to anyone about it? Besides the non-committal comments you make to me during such enjoyable times together."

Temptation to lie lost to her knowing that Porlysusica would see through it. "No."

"I'm not a therapist, and you know my stance on _needless_ human interaction…I am telling you now, this is not one of those. I can give you a number for a grief counselor—"

Lifting her eyes, heat entered her voice. "I don't need one."

"Denial."

"I _don't_."

"It's been over eighteen months."

"Eighteen months that I have been fine during."

Porlysusica was not convinced. "When was the last time you got laid?"

"Excuse me?"

"If you were really fine, you would be living more."

"I work. A lot."

"That, the ceaseless work, I say is from you trying to forget a broken heart. Your closed-off manner, keeping everyone but a stubborn few at arm's length, comes from some kind of deeper grief." Examining her nails, the doctor's voice gained an uncharacteristic gentle tone. "Did you ever call him about what happened?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Cause there's nothing to say."

"No harm, no foul?" Sarcasm impossible to miss.

"It's better this way…and we're done here." Hopping to the floor, Levy grabbed her messenger bag. "I'll make an appointment for next year on my way out."

"You are by far the most brilliant idiot I have ever had the displeasure of meeting." The comment followed Levy out into the sterile hallway.

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><p>"What is a nine-letter word for 'Wicked'…other than Loke Leo?"<p>

"First, that is—if you count the space between, which you never do in crossword puzzles unless they are already blacked-out—only eight spaces." Pencil tucked into her ponytail, Levy stepped onto the main shop space to give Loke a disapproving shake of her head. She didn't bother to chastise him on his lack of a work ethic. Seeing that he was covering for a call off and not an official member of Freed's staff. "Second, you are—I think—looking for 'nefarious.'"

"Right." Tapping his temple with the capped end of his pen, the handsome bartender winked at her behind his tinted frames. "Have I told you how hot I find it that you're a walking dictionary?"

"Have I told you lately that this is the very reason why Laki," the employee Loke was covering for, though she made it understood that she found him a detestable playboy, "doesn't like you and Lucy will never be more than a mere flirting buddy? No girl wants to be with a man who is a compliment-slut."

"Meanwhile, men love sluts—"

"Nope. Stopping you right there."

Laughing, he ducked his head to scribe out the word, glancing through his annoyingly long lashes as Levy started to do her counts on the sales floor. "All kidding aside, we could go out sometime."

That almost caused her to drop her clipboard, covering the shock with a raised brow. "Why the sudden interest?"

"Better to be alone with someone than alone part."

"This is why you should never wonder into the philosophy section. Sounding like a fortune cookie: another turn-off for most members of the female race."

"I'm not asking for commitment, the foulest of all possible curse words. I'm just saying that I think we could have fun together. I'll bring you a bouquet of books and you could go to a restaurant and not ask if everything is fat-free along with being able to understand a movie that isn't a rom-com. Maybe we could see a foreign film; you wouldn't complain the entire time about having to read subtitles."

It was too much. Annoyed, Levy tossed her clipboard of inventory onto the nearest shelf and turned toward a startled Loke with hands on her hips. "Did Lucy put you up to this?"

"Why would Lucy put me up to anything? Wait," he held up a hand, "that came out dirtier than I meant. What I should have said was why would Lucy ask me, the closest to an ex that she has, to ask out her best friend. Even for guys, that would be weird."

Because, since she found out about Levy's past with Gajeel over five weeks ago, the blonde had been not-so-subtly going out of her way to try to make things right for her friend. It would just add to the pile, including 'anonymous' gifts left at her apartment, that she would con Loke into asking Levy onto a pity date as a means to get her to move-on with her life.

"Well, thanks for asking—I guess…but I'm really not interested."

He just shrugged. "Fair enough. Let me know if you change your mind."

"And you'll squeeze me in somewhere amongst the members of your harem?"

A smug smile spread across his face at her ill-used phrasing. "Now…there's an image."

And that got Levy laughing. Face hot from the blush she was fighting, she rested it against the side of the nearest shelf.

"And that is something you should do more often." Smiling, he rested his chin on top his fist and just watched her get back to work. "Have to say, most—including Lucy—can't beat you in that department."

High praise from him, seeing that Lucy had been the pinnacle object of his desire for as long as Levy had lived in Magnolia.

The bell chimed as the door open, saving Levy from the conversion. Not sure what to make or do with this recent turn of events, she welcomed the interruption. Smiling to greet the guest, though she was technically only there to do inventory and categorize the backroom, Levy poked her head out of the aisle and…

Her body froze in place as her stomach rolled.

The man who waked in had the opposite reaction. Grey eyes flashing silver in surprised and delighted glee spreading across his sharp-featured face before there was a flash of pink and Levy found herself entrapped in deceptively slender arms. A slim build consisting of pure muscle that she could feel as her face was pressed to his torso.

"Bookworm!" The voice nearly sang, reverberating through his torso as Levy's feet left the ground and she was swung about. "Where the Hell have you been?!"

"Can't…breath…" Levy gasped out while, behind the star forward's back and idle to at least one Magnolia high-school soccer player, she waved at Loke for him to know that she wasn't being assaulted. Well, not intentionally. Natsu just sometimes lacked knowledge of social mores.

And it had been two years since he had last seen her…so this was actually a mild welcome in that regard.

"Oh, sorry." Placing her down, Natsu kept his hands on her shoulders and continued to beam down at her. "I can't believe that I'm the one to find you…here of all places. Some wanted to put your face on milk cartons after you disappeared—"

"Natsu." Reaching up, Levy cupped his face and forced him to focus on her words. Trying to lower her voice to keep Loke from overhearing and hoping he wasn't familiar with the soccer world. "Is Gajeel here?"

"We all are!"

"Why?"

"This is Laxus' hometown."

"Of course it is." Levy muttered through clenched teeth, mind already racing on what the hell she should do with his unwanted development.

"Him and the old man have a ranch or something here that they thought to turn into a vacation camp for the team. After winning the cup, the starters thought some R&R was needed as we prepare for the next season…Oh, fuck! Redfox is going to flip his shit when he sees you. Kind of want to record it to show at the next team meeting. I can go get him now! The bastard's just down the street, he lost the coin toss and had to do the grocery shopping with Elfman. Which means we are going to be mostly drinking our meals—"

"Natsu, please listen. You can't tell Gajeel I am here."

That dimmed his smile. "Why not? Levy, when you left he—"

"He can't know." She stressed, eyes turning frantic in scanning the street beyond the display windows. Both yearning to see him and fearing so. "Promise me you won't tell him."

"Is this because of him with Jenny?"

Ouch. Who knew that a simple question could stab so at her heart? "No." Stepping back from him, Levy maintained to hold his confused gaze. "But, I left him Natsu."

"Because he was an idiot about something. That's what we all tell him."

"You can't tell him." Hooking his finger after repeating this simple rule, she curled his pinkie with hers. "Swear to me that you won't."

"Alright," curling his pinkie tighter to hers, he gave her a serious nod, "I won't tell him. Not that it is going to do you any good."

"Why?"

"Because, no matter where we go, Gajeel always checks out the bookstore…or stores, depending on where we are. In fact, he most likely abandoned Elfman and is on his way here."

"Why?"

It was his turn to look at her as if she understood nothing, catching her wrist when she went to bolt. "Why did you leave?" All comedic energy had ebbed from his manner as he looked Levy over with a more analyzing eye. Undoubtedly noting the dark circles under her eyes and the swallow cast to her skin.

"It's complicated."

And it was about to get more so, for right then the door swung open to admit a large shadow to cast across the shop's floor.

Natsu hadn't broken his promise, but he had ensured that his teammate had a chance to encounter his estranged wife. Levy made sure that the feeling of betrayal could be read on her face…and he didn't even have the decency to look ashamed.

"Look who I found!" Natsu's playful-self had returned as he, still holding onto Levy's wrist, turned to smile at where Gajeel stood in the doorway. And Levy found that she lacked the strength not to look at him.

Not to miss the opportunity to see him in the flesh for the first time in two years.

Not even the knowledge of the pure rage she would encounter, having seen his temper in action on more than one occasion, deterred her irrational desire.

She expected him to glare at her, crimson irises flashes as his nostrils flared and…possibly a pronounced vein to pulse at his neck. She expected hands to ball into white-knuckled fists, body shaking from building ire and the threat of him taking out the window he stood beside. She having seen him do that once, in a hospital, when someone had ran their car into Levy's bike—causing her to break her leg and three ribs—and fled the scene. When she forbade him from hunting the guy down, and most likely putting himself at risk of being arrested for assault and battery, he had channeled his rage into destroying the room's windows and dry-walls.

The team paid the hospital expenses and kept him from being arrested for the more minor charge of destruction of property.

She would welcome these reactions, even if they led to him unleashing his verbal rage unto her—knowing that he would never lay a hand on her in violence in any situation—to what actually happen.

Lashing out at her, calling her ever dirty name conceivable and emotionally breaking her down, would have been a far better reception than the look he gave her.

Or, more accurately, the look he didn't give her.

His eyes, cold and closed-off, slid right through her.

Not even acknowledging her existence.

Expressing how he thought of her far stronger than any word could.

She was dead to him.

"Come on Dragneel." Holding the door open, he nodded Natsu out. "The others already headed out with the food in the car, and it's almost an hour run for us."

"But—"

"Now."

Looking back at Levy, Natsu's brown crinkled in confusion. She shook her head, silently pleading him to-for once-not fight on the matter and just do what he was told. Taking a deep breath, Natsu nodded and leaned in to kiss her cheek before, reluctantly, releasing her and following Gajeel out onto the street.

"Alright…" Loke released a low whistle, as the two professional soccer players walked out of sight. "Don't mean to pry but…care to explain what that was about?"

Not answering, Levy abandoned her work and escaped into the haven of the storage room. Tucking herself into a corner between a metal shelf and the cinder-blocked wall, she rested her forehead against her drawn-up knees and bawled like a child.

* * *

><p><strong>Know there are errors hidden throughout this...please forgive me for not catching them.<strong>

**I want to incorporate some flashes of their past together as a base for the main story. What did you guys think of it? Would you want chapter from Gajeel's POV? Do you want any side couples (though GaLe will be the main focal point—I am thinking of a Elfman/Evergree backdrop and some spurts of Natsu/Lucy)?**

**Thanks for the comments/favorite/alerts so far and I am planning on updating Dragons sometime this weekend.**


	3. Chapter 2

**[DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING…]**

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><p><strong>2: Apartment Visits…<strong>

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><p><em>The apartment was dark when Gajeel got home, after wearily climbing up the eighth flights of steps from where the cab had dropped him off at the build's entrance minutes before. This was not an entirely unexpected occurrence, seeing that it was past one in the morning. Though, normally, Levy would try to stay awake for him. On more than one occasion, he would come home to find her sleeping on her favorite window seat with a book threatening to fall off her lap as her head nodding from her struggle to remain conscious. <em>

_It had become a tradition of sorts for him, on returning from an away game, to carry her to bed. Where, after a few stolen kisses and nips, he could usually convince her there were things worth waking for. Suffice to say, it was one of his favorite parts of coming home and he was disappointed to see that the window seat was empty, except for the closed book resting on the cushion._

_Levy must have given up on waiting for him._

_Which was, unfortunately, becoming a tradition in itself. Even during the off-season, Gajeel's schedule was getting more and more complicated. Levy claimed not to mind being left alone so often, content with her books and job hunting—they had yet to celebrate her graduation—rather than having to smooze with the team's owner and all the politics that came with it. He tried to duck out as much as possible, hating the vapid encounters almost as much as leaving Levy alone. It was no secret that he would prefer to spend a night at home than with a collective mass of douches._

_Much to Hades', owner of the Tails, displeasure._

_Dropping his bag on the couch, planning to deal with it later, he made way to the bedroom and clicked the light onto its dimmest setting in hopes that Levy was only partially asleep. Leeway to wake her without feeling like a jackass for doing so._

"_Levy?" He whispered, shucking off his jacket before turning towards the bed—a massive structure that he joked he could lose Levy in…and an excuse he used to keep her tight to his side—and found that this joke might have turned true. There was no indention that showed that a tiny, blue-haired woman was curled underneath the blankets. "Hey, Pet." Sitting on the edge of her side of the bed, he smoothed a hand over the flat surface. Proving that there was, indeed, nothing under the surface._

_Alright then…_

_He wondered into the bathroom, hoping she was taking a late-night bath that he could join her in…and, again, found nothing._

"_Levy?" His voice rose as his feet wondered about the studio space. Each room was as void of life as the last. It wasn't until his second circuit, when his hand was searching for his phone—left in the pocket of his abandoned pack, that he noticed what rested on the kitchen island._

_A gold loop, a lone earring meant to string through the upper cartridge, and a wallet with a key rest on top of._

_The key to the apartment and a wallet full of their shared credit cards._

_His first instinct was to go running off after her, despite not knowing where she went or how long ago that was. Digging out his phone from his luggage, he began to dial out Natsu's number to gain some aid in his search. Thumb pausing before hitting 'send.'_

_Pivoting about, Gajeel rushed back to the bedroom and opened the door to the walk-in closet they shared. At first glance, Levy's side was full…only on closer inspection did he see were pieces were missing. All the clothes she had prior to their moving in together._

_The same with her jewelry and shoes._

_Even with the books filling the space, what had to be Levy's most prized possession, she only took the ones that were unquestionably hers._

_Taking nothing of their shared life._

_Nothing he had given her during over four years together._

_And that was really all he had to know about how she valued their relationship._

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><p>It was about the time that they began to fear for the television and the gaming systems attached that it was decided that Gajeel should crash in the stables, converted into dorms for when the ranch was an official training camp at the beginning of the next season. The upper loft was designed into a suite intended for the housing staff to live in. Currently unoccupied, seeing that only the eleven starting Tails and their coach were the lone ones in attendance, and perfect for Gajeel to be exiled into.<p>

"It's your own damn fault," Natsu, the only one brave enough to linger about when his fellow midfielder was in a foul mood, pointed out from where he was sitting in the former-loft's open window. Watching as Gajeel stormed about in a struggle to fight the desire of taking a sledgehammer to the walls. All the pink-haired man needed was popcorn to make this a truly entertaining spectacle. "She was right there. And you thought to act all cool and…whatever." Unable to construct the proper sentiment to convey his thoughts, Natsu threw his hands in the air.

"What was I supposed to do?" Gripping his hair at the root, Gajeel could feel how it was at risk of being ripped free from his scalp. "Pick her up and drag her back here like a fucking caveman?"

Natsu snorted a laugh, remembering Levy calling Gajeel just that on the rare occasions when the couple had fought. "It would have been the expected." He then had to duck as the book Gajeel chucked at his head sailed outside. Another reason for Gajeel's exile was the sheer amount of literature he took with him. He, who had never been one for reading before, had spent the last two years with either his nose in a book or working for the field.

"You saw the jerk-off she was with."

Turning back towards Gajeel, having been busy watching the paperback's trajectory to the ground below, Natsu rubbed the back of his head in phantom pain from the near miss. "The guy behind the counter? I think he works there, not there with her."

"Possession was written all over him when he looked at her."

"Yeah…no…he was doing a crossword puzzle and only looked up when you walked in with the fucking murder cloud above your head."

Before Gajeel could retort, his phone released a buzz that Natsu could swear sounded more annoyed than any other cell-noise he had ever heard. Sliding it open without looking who it was, knowing without having to read the name, Gajeel snapped, "What the fuck do you want Jenny?"

"Good, it's the perfect time to tell her that you're breaking-up." Natsu muttered, climbing to his feet and wondering towards the door. Voice raising as he got closer to where Gajeel had the phone. "Or, whatever the equivalent of breaking-up you can do with someone you're don't even like."

"I take it that you're with Dragneel…rather than attending my work party."

"You pout in front of a camera in a bikini, not my definition of working."

"And you are paid hundreds of thousands in salary and endorsements to kick a ball about, not exactly the blue-collar salt of the earth."

"Why do you want me around if you don't even like my presence?"

"If I wanted to marry someone I liked, I would be with Hibiki. For some reason, being seen with you boosts my career. Just like getting 'candid' shots on the street with me gets your moronic team publicity."

And they said romance was dead. Thoughts Gajeel kept to himself as he curled and stretched out his fingers, both to whitening intensity. Mind wondering to the moment when he stepped into the shop, when he saw Levy standing with Natsu. Pleading with him on matters Gajeel could guess the content of.

She hadn't wanted to see him.

For the last two years, all Gajeel could think during moments when his mind was unoccupied was all the possible reasons behind her disappearing act. This was one of the reasons he took up reading as a hobby was to reduce these breeches in is mental security. The only reason he agreed to this farce of an arrangement with Realight was from the desire to end the endless taunts from Hades.

It wasn't supposed to have gone this far.

One moment, he grudgingly went on a walk with her where Jenny spotted a photographer and snagged his hand to entwine their fingers. The next, the media had them engaged…a story that Jenny was running with. Going as far as annoying Gajeel, on a daily basis, about buying her a ring. Something that was never going to happen.

Remembering that Jenny was still rambling about his lack of attendance, Gajeel spoke through her tantrum with what he hoped to be an ending remark. "I told you, or someone from the team told your agent, that I'm at training camp."

"No, you are at some ranch with your idiotic friends with plans to do nothing but get drunk for the next few weeks and will probably get arrested for starting a town-wide brawl."

"Well, you say tomato—"

"I'm not joking. How do you think it looks for me to go to an industry party without my fiancé?"

"No one is getting married." Gajeel, reaching his breaking point, clicked the conversation to an end and chucked the phone against the wall. Breaking the back off and freeing the battery to skid under the kitchenette's table. And he knew that, as soon as he reassembled it, he would be bombarded with texts and voice mails.

A fist splintered the door of the bedroom's door, bloodying his knuckles that left crimson flecks on the once glossy surface.

"You know, a man would be able to contain his anger."

"Fuck off Elfman." Gajeel, shaking off his fist, sat down at the table and glared at the goalie. Apparently, him and Natsu were working on some kind of tag-team system. That, or the Tail members were going on a relay. After Gajeel sent Elfman away, would Gray pop in? "You don't hear me adding insight to your relationship with prima-diva-bitch-Ever and your lapse of insanity in actually buying the cow when she was giving the milk away."

Walking further into the space, Elfman sat across from the scowling Gajeel. "See, I can control my rage. I'm not pummeling you for those disrespectful comments."

Gajeel snorted at the thought.

"Besides, you marry the woman so she can't just slip off into the night. You're particular situation taught me as much."

"So, a man controls his violence but can take cheap jabs?"

"I'm not here to make you feel better, I'm here to make sure that this," he waved his hand to indicate all that was Gajeel's current situation, "isn't going to flare up whenever Ever and the girls come to visit."

"Of course, you can't have me disturbing bride-zilla."

Elfman snorted, "Screw that, Ever can eat you alive. I'm more concerned about Wendy. I don't think she can withstand another birthday incident and I don't think Jellal will take it well if you emotionally scar his beloved little sister…again."

"I didn't emotionally scar her."

A scarred brow lifted. "Do we really have to go into the amusement park debacle?"

"It wasn't that bad."

"You punched one of the hired mascots."

"Whatever."

"And, you know, that the moment they hear that she's in town…the girls are going to seek out Levy."

"Why the hell would they do that?"

"Because, she wasn't just your girlfriend—"

"She was more than my girlfriend." Gajeel always hated how juvenile such sentiments sounded.

"—she was an important part of their lives for years. Ever already told me that, seeing we're a maid's maid short, she's going to ask Levy to step in."

"No."

"You don't have a say in the matter, and you're going to be expected to act like an adult."

"Or what?"

"Or I'll let my sisters and Ever off their leashes and turn you into mincemeat."

"Is it _manly_ to hide behind his sisters and fiancée?"

"A man acknowledges the strengths of those around him. So, you will put this petty bullshit aside and face the matter head on."

"So, you…what? Want me to go up to her and be like 'Yeah, so you fucking left me two years ago…but, what the hell, let's be best friends'?"

"Or, you could just ignore her. I don't care either way as long as your keep your anger in check."

"Easier said than done."

"Then take up yoga…or get laid. Jenny is said to be easy, give her a ring and get a blow-job" An oddly crass statement for Elfman, all about the actions of a true man…which normally bordered on a gentlemanly mindset, to make on his way back out of the suite. Especially considering that, like the rest of the Tail starters, he disliked the very idea of Gajeel with Jenny. Which told Gajeel how much stress the groom-to-be was under with the wedding only weeks away and Ever not being the easiest of people to interact with on the best of situations.

Alone once more, Gajeel contemplated his damaged hand once more before dismissing the self-induced injury and began roaming the space like a caged panther. Snarling under his breath and picking up random objects with the desire to smash and destroy.

One such as a leather-bound copy of _Jane Eyre_. The book Levy had left on the windowsill, and the only book she left that belonged completely to her. The reason it had stayed behind with the rest was easy for Gajeel to deduce.

Seeing that he hated reading back when she was his tutor, he practiced the art of skimming and shrinking from work on the belief that Levy would fangirl about the content anyway. When Levy realized he merely wrote her rants for his required essays, she started making him read to her from whatever book was assigned to his class during their time together…

And then they would watch the movie so Gajeel's paper's touched on the multi-media aspect of great works on his required reading list. _Jane Eyre _was among these assignments. Levy told him later that she knew she was falling for him the day he read Rochester's confession while they killed time at the soccer field before practice started.

Some men thought _Pride and Prejudice _was a classic way of getting laid or, with the changing of the times, that Shades book Levy used to rant about being the downfall of modern literature…for Gajeel, he knew the effects Bronte had on his girl. A reason why he was constantly contemplating donating the book to some second-hand store that a high-schooler would buy and write through before forgetting out in the rain, but never succeeding in such on knowing how this fate would break Levy's heart.

Fucking chump that he was.

Flipping through the pages, yellowing and soft at the edges from countless readings, he found his bookmark. A glossy photo that, like the book, he wanted nothing more than to be free of. And now was as good of a time as any.

Tossing the book to the end table, he took the photo by the top corner and prepared to rip.

And, like so many times before, failed in the execution.

Shoving the photo in his back pocket, Gajeel walked to the table and retrieved the pieces of his phone.

* * *

><p>"Oh, God…Alzack!" A feminine moan came through the thin walls of the apartment, accompanied by the faint sounds of groaning bed-springs and a rhythmic thudding against the wall by Levy's head.<p>

Rolling to her side, she tried to cocoon her head in the lone pillow adorning her bed. The action unable to drown out the satisfied male grunt of pleasure.

"I promised you a riding lesson."

The past three weeks had been so pleasant while her neighbors had been out on some kind of cowboy/gunfighter outing. Now they were back and had apparently decided to refrain from sex until they had returned to their home, where they could keep half the building awake.

Giving up on the idea of slumber—even if the perverse marathon wasn't raging next-door, Levy doubted her mind would be able to quiet from the shop's incident...she kept seeing Gajeel's disregarding expression on an endless loop—Levy climbed out of her cot of a bed that, like all her pieces of limited furniture, had been a cheap find—books being the only thing she truly indulged in to the extent that there were mountain ranges of such constructed about the floor space-and trudged into the main room. Where the sounds had blessedly dimmed in volume.

Time for some ice-cream. The best possible comfort food.

If she kept at this rate, she might actually develop the breasts and ass she always wanted.

Popping the lid open, she blindly dug her spoon into the container as an angry knock rapped on the door. Probably someone coming to complain about the noise, not knowing which apartment to blame and playing roulette with the doors of the floor until the correct one was found.

"Wrong one," she muttered, licking the contents of her spoon on her way to tell the person as much. Not wanting to try to compete with the couple's volume, knowing that they would win.

Spoon still in mouth, she undid the deadbolt and, keeping the chain in place, swung the door open. "Yeah…sorry, you want the next door over…" Her voice trailed off into a startled squeak. Some things never changed, no matter how much time could alter others, and—for Levy—it was how she would always be a timid bookworm at her core.

Something never more evident than when Gajeel was staring down at her from his superior height. Such as at the current moment. There she was, in her over-sized orange and yellow paid pajama set, gazing up at where he was being as ruggedly sexy as ever and clearly with a few drinks in him.

"Um…Yes?"

"Let me in. We need to talk."

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><p><strong>Know there are errors hidden throughout this...please forgive me for not catching them.<strong>

**As you might have noticed, the flashbacks are not going to be in chronological order. I am trying to match situations...if that makes sense to anyone but me.**

**[I am also aware I said I was going to update ****_Dragons_****…but, when I sat down to do such, this came out.]**

**As always, thanks for the comments/favorite/alerts so far.**


	4. Chapter 3

**[DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING…]**

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><p><strong>3: A Fine Line...<br>**

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><p>"<em>Hey, Gepetto, you're going to cut off a fucking finger."<em>

_Levy didn't look up from the piece of wood she was trying to convince into taking the standard clock shape she was required to construct if she wanted a passing grade in shop and, therefore, could graduate. _

_The original plan had been for her to help Gajeel keep up his GPA and maintain his position on the field…and that had gone south fast. The athlete had been under the misguided notion that Levy would be the one who would be doing all the work. _

_Reading all the books and constructing detailed notes._

_Writing all the papers assigned._

_She suspected that he even wanted to jerry-rig some kind of ear pierce so she could feed him the answers during times of testing._

_A system, minus the spy-level cheating actions, she had been fooled into from her middle school crush, and she vowed never to stoop so low again. She had tried all in her power to get Gajeel to focus and do the work, and met with a brick wall of resistance each time. She might not be infatuated with him like she had with the boy back then, but it turned out that intimidation was a far trickier emotion to overcome._

_After she caught him merely writing out everything she said while trying to hold a dialogue, plagiarized it as his own, she declared enough._

_Refusing to meet during their schedule time slots, using such to work on her carpentry skills._

"_Are you seriously not going to tutor anymore because I wrote a paper, which I got a B+ on…thanks for that, on what you said?"_

"_You cheated." Levy's voice got as close to a snap as it was able. "You stole my thoughts in order to get that grade…Really? Only a B+?"_

"_Watch out!"_

_Levy's pride had diverted her attention from the saw, and nearly slid her thumb along the blade. There would have been considerable blood, the sight of which might have threatened to make Levy faint…if the pain didn't do so first. Fate prevented when rough hands, grabbing her wrist and waist, hauled her against the solid surface of his chest._

_The blade continued to spin as the two looked at each other while trying to catch their breaths._

_Seconds later, Levy was shaking from the realization of how close she was to losing a limb._

"_Why am I in this situation?" She was humiliated to realize tears were stinging at her eyes. "Either I have to deal with your selfish laziness or be at constant risk of self-mutilation." And she hated it. The last part wasn't said, but understood. "Why can't I do this?"_

"_Because you tend to over-think things, Pet. Like why can't the damn snowman in _Mockingbird_ just be two kids enjoying the weather?" _

"_What?"_

"_I have to listen to you in order to 'steal' your ideas." Securing hands becoming awkward, he turned her about to face the work table once more. Covering her hands with his palms to help guide her actions. "And, when working with power tools, it's best to turn off your brain to everything but the edge wanting to cut through bone." Under his influence, she found that the plank far more willing to move the way she had wanted. "You also can't be timid. Nothing will be done if you don't use a bit of force." Fingertips moving back, to line with hers, he demonstrated the amount._

"_So you're helping me out of having to help you?" Was all Levy could think to say, mind torn between the instructions and the fact that she was essentially being held in his arms. She could smell the detergent wafting from his shirt and feel stray stands of his tangled mane trickle against her bare shoulders. The shop was hot, causing her to strip down to her camisole while fighting through her project._

"_That…can't be helped. I'm not one to stand by and watch such a pathetic display at something so easy. Especially by someone so much smarter than me."_

"_There are different kinds of intelligence."_

_Absently, he stepped in closer to place a hand on her hip for the briefest of moments when her feet want to topple. "Yeah, and my certain brand is going to cost me my position."_

"_That's not true, if you actually tried—"_

"_I am so fucking tired of hearing that." Palms leaving hers, flicking off the power before creating a void between them, Gajeel's voice regained the snarl that Levy realized had been absent during their conversation. "Do you think I enjoy the fact that everyone thinks I'm an idiot?"_

"_I guess not."_

_He snorted at her lack of denial. Hands in pockets, he contemplated his scuffed boots. "Jose, my coach, told me just to have you do everything…I thought you knew."_

"_I never would have agreed to that."_

"_Yeah, I get that now…" He glanced at her through lashes and hair, so many unspoken words and near pleas radiating from his crimson irises. Waiting for the final outcome._

"_Alright, you know now. That means some things will be changing if I am going to come back."_

"_Such as?"_

"_Reading."_

"_What of it?"_

"_We're going to start having story time."_

* * *

><p>"Let me in. We need to talk." Gajeel said the words with complete confident certainty that they would be followed without hesitation. A demanding tone he hadn't used on addressing her for years now. Not since those first few days of tutoring, and something Levy never obeyed without fighting.<p>

Tonight, between the mortification of her dress and the sensual sounds of release drifting through the walls, she just wanted the situation to end. For this to occur, there was nothing to do now but give into his command. The glint in his eyes told her he wasn't backing down anytime soon.

And she didn't need a world famous athlete camping out in front of her door.

"Couldn't this have waited till morning?" She muttered as she shut the door to undo the chain, opening it back a crack for him to allow himself in. Meanwhile she—regretfully—put away her beginning-to-melt ice cream and tossed the spoon into the sink.

Gajeel was standing in the living space when she returned her attention to him, after using the aforementioned actions to force her emotions into an unwilling state of zen.

She was stone.

None of her thoughts would show on her face.

This would be quick and painless.

Looking about the postage-stamp of a space, far from the studio apartment she used to share with him, Gajeel cocked his head towards the sounds seemingly originating from the bedroom.

"Are you watching porn?" Was he brilliant point of a starting line, making it easy on Levy to test her voice control.

"Yes, Gajeel. Over the last two years, I have become a sexual deviant."

Studded brows rose at her ill-thought wording. After all, he was well aware of certain actions Levy had committed in the past. One in particular being after his first professional game, involving a security gulf-cart after hours...that had a working horn placed on the wheel.

Remaining on the kitchen-side of the counter, Levy scrubbed her face. No matter how calm she managed to get her mind, looking at him for a prolonged period frazzled her nerves anew. Hopefully, he would see the act as that from fatigue. "Is this really what you wanted to talk about?" She wasn't even going to touch on wondering how he found where she lived. Gajeel always had the ability to make situations bow to his will.

"You owe me some answers."

"I guess I do." Resting her hands on the counter, fingers straining against the plastic-base surface in her attempt to release the tension wiring her body into the unyielding obstacle. "Ask away."

"Why?"

Well, she should have known that he wouldn't shy from the big questions.

Taking a deep breath, she reminded herself of something Gajeel had taught her during a poker lesson. The trick about a bluff, or any lie for that matter, was always start with the truth. Whenever able, manipulate the facts to serve your purpose." We got too serious, too fast, at too young an age."

"Bullshit." Sitting on her couch, the fragile rickety structure visibly sinking under his muscular build, Gajeel rested his arms along the back. "Try again."

Make the truth work for deceit.

Levy reminded herself once more, while taking a deep breath and counting to ten before, as he said, trying again to surmise some kind of plausible explanation.

"We were too different." She held up a finger before he could call bullshit once more. "Something that was exciting and sexy to begin with became too much to me to handle when faced with the glaring apparent fact that I didn't belong in the world you were transferring into."

"Yeah, that sentence made zero sense."

"Think about it." Testing her strength, she left the safe haven of the kitchen and sat on the battered recliner she had gotten off the side of the road, the only other piece of furniture available. Another thing to add to the list of her humiliation of that night was Gajeel seeing how poverty-stricken she had fallen into. The thought made her tuck her feet under where she sat and her fingers to become fascinated with the cuff of her night shirt. "You were—and still are—a rising star. If you weren't traveling with the team, you were at some kind of event promoting the team. Endorsements were starting to come in and…you didn't have time for me."

Jaw clenched, Gajeel adjusted how his bandana sat on his brow. "I always asked you to come along."

"To sit about whatever hotel you were staying at and trying to get my homework done? Do you hear how juvenile that sounds? As for the parties and events, I clearly didn't belong there. Not when you were surrounded by women like your fiancée."

A sick sense of pride chimed at a dark corner in the back of her mind when Gajeel's righteous-manner deflated the slightest bit. "You know about Jenny?"

"There was a magazine about you two in the library where I work." She managed a small smile without retching. "I'm glad that you found someone who compliments you, and your status."

Her words made him stand, knocking her couch over from the force of the action. "Someone who _compliments_ me?"

"What do you want me to say? That I'm glad that you proved all my suspicions and fears true by replacing me with the stereotype?" That was too close to the truth for Levy's liking. A sub-layer of self-consciousness that had always dwelled in the shadows of her mind. Taking a deep breath, she could feel the rapid way her lashes fluttered to keep the tears at bay.

"Replace you? You're the one who did the leaving."

"I know."

"Without even a fucking note." The wording wasn't in question form, but the question was still understood.

"I thought…" She cleared her throat and forced the false words to come from her mouth. Looking at her lap rather than at his reaction. "I thought that you would welcome that arrangement. When you wouldn't have to deal with the 'talking' aspect of a break-up, something you always told me you hated. If I just upped and left it would, of course, hurt your ego, but it would also save you from the melodrama. Clean and simple."

She startled with a squeak when two hands latched onto the arms of her chair. Eyes lifting she found the tip of her nose nearly brushing against his.

Gajeel was not happy.

In fact, this might be the angriest she had ever seen him.

"You thought I would welcome the idea of, what, some clean break that I had no say in?"

Now she was too far from truth for anything but rely on her limited relationship with falsehoods. Thankfully, she had gained a more intimate understanding of such over the past two years. "Yes."

One of his hands went from the chair's arm to her throat. Threatening or possessive, it was hard to say which. His thumb tapped at her chin as his face came closer, taking he entire frame of her vision. "I don't know if I should be more insulted by how little you know me or how little faith you have in my abilities of persuasion."

"Persuasion?"

"To change your mind." Eyes still scorching with rage, lips seared against hers.

Demanding.

Coaxing.

Devouring.

Tongue prying apart her shocked lips and sliding between her teeth. Hand at her throat turned cradling while the other snaked about her. Pulling her tight to his chest and sliding against the bare skin of her back under her shirt. A path of fire following the seductive caress slowly meandering up her spin, lifting her sleep-top with it.

Levy could taste the alcohol on his breath. Using that to explain the drunken sensation overcoming her and, momentarily, caused her to forget reason. The real reasons for why she had to leave him two years before.

Back arching, her fingers twined through his hair as the softest of moans escaped her lips.

Pushing the chair back into full reclining stance, his steady hands guided her body to contort about so he could place a knee on the edge and part her legs. The joints of the furniture creaked when Gajeel basically climbed onto the recliner with her, placing them in danger of toppling over like the couch had.

And things were about to get seriously out of hand.

She knew it.

Knew their pattern.

Knew that she had to be the one to end it…Something easy to think but nearly impossible to do when all her body wanted was more.

More of his mouth moving along her body: her lips, her jaw, her throat…acting like a man long denied water being presented an oasis.

More of his hands touching her body, clinging to her from fear of disappearance.

More of…everything.

It took a strength of will she never thought herself capable of to move her hands from his hair and to his chest and, rather than rid him of his shirt to feel the muscles ripping under the surface, push him away.

"Levy—?"

"We can't do this…I can't do this." She specified when it was clear that Gajeel definitely could. Scrambling off the chair, over the arm to create needed distance. "You're engaged." Was the only excuse her mind could develop as Gajeel sank into the chair and just watched her with unshielded heat.

"I don't want her."

"Oh, well, that's lovely." Walking towards the front door...giving the chair and it's far too tempting occupant a wide birth...she used movement to shield him from seeing how much her body was shaking and how glassy her eyes had become.

If she didn't get him out now, she was certain she would break down and make a ridiculous sobbing display of herself that would involve begging for forgiveness paired with a babbled explanation.

"And you need to leave now." Opening the door, she motioned him out. "We had our talk. You got your answers. I need to sleep, have an early morning."

"I have one more question."

"Too bad, your time is up."

Getting to his feet, Gajeel put his hands in the back pockets of his jeans. Not to be deterred from her rejection, he voiced his last inquiry anyway. "Is there someone else?"

"Is that what this was about? You wanting to stake claim once more? You can have someone else in your life, though you might not entirely like her…a topic matter I am not touching on, and yet you can't bear to think of someone else with me? Like a spoiled child with a toy?"

"Damn it woman, can I say nothing right?"

"That seems to be more up to you than me. Now," she nodded her head towards her room. The sounds ceasing from next door. "My neighbors are done with their nocturnal activities and I am going to bed. Leave, or I will call the cops."

That…was a bluff. One she executed well enough to be convincing.

Gajeel left. The general sense of being pissed off radiating from his tense posture, slamming the door shut behind him.

Levy managed to get all the locks back in place before her knees gave way and the tears finally brimmed past her lips to stream down her face. Forehead pressed to the door, knuckles pressed to her trembling lips, her body convulsed from months' worth of repressed heart-break.

A palm pressed to her stomach as Levy slide further down to the floor.

Where she would eventually fall asleep and wake mere hours later with an intense knot in her spine.

* * *

><p><strong>Know there are errors hidden throughout this...please forgive me for not catching them.<strong>

**As always, thanks for the comments/favorite/alerts so far.**


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